Adults with conflicting or facilitating goals differ in adherence‐related self‐regulatory factors and exercise over time

• Published in: Journal of applied social psychology 2019-07, Vol.49 (7), p.416-425
• Main Authors: Blouin, Jocelyn E., Gyurcsik, Nancy C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis of covariance; Classification; Efficacy; Groups; Leisure; Objectives; Public health; Self control; Time
• ISSN: 0021-9029; 1559-1816
• DOI: 10.1111/jasp.12594

Most adults do not meet the public health recommendation of 150+ min each week of moderate–vigorous exercise. Exercise, which is performed during individuals' leisure time, does not typically occur in isolation as individuals often also pursue non‐exercise goals. According to social cognitive theory, concurrent pursuit of multiple goals that conflict with or facilitate one another may differentially affect the successful exercise self‐regulation, as illustrated by differences in adherence‐related self‐regulatory factors and exercise levels. To investigate this contention, the study examined whether adults (N = 191; Mage = 31.29, SD = 11.87 years), reporting conflicting or facilitating exercise and non‐exercise goals, differed in self‐regulatory factors (i.e., concurrent self‐regulatory efficacy and outcome expectations) and exercise. Participants completed online measures of self‐regulatory factors and exercise at study onset. Assessment of exercise occurred again one month later. Participants reporting conflicting (n = 100) or facilitating (n = 91) goals formed comparison groups. A between‐groups multivariate analysis of covariance, with Time 1 exercise as a covariate, was significant (p < 0.001). Post hoc univariate and descriptive discriminant analyses revealed that participants with conflicting goals reported significantly lower self‐regulatory efficacy (p < 0.001), which contributed the most to group classification, and Time 2 exercise (p = 0.01) than those with facilitating goals. Findings provide first evidence that concurrent self‐regulatory efficacy is a key differentiating factor between adults with conflicting or facilitating goals. Future research should investigate whether bolstering self‐regulatory efficacy improves exercise levels among adults with conflicting goals.